20 June 2013

Wonder Week Woes

Wonder Weeks...ever hear of em? I know I'm sure glad I heard of this little book early on in baby H's time here with us, cause boy, I'm not sure I would have made it without something positive to focus on during those crazy fussy times and night wakings.

The Wonder Weeks is a book {and also an awesome app} based on the research of Dr Frans Plooij compiled over a 40 year span! They have basically narrowed down 10 mental developments or "leaps" your baby makes in their first year. Along with these leaps come age linked fussy periods just before you baby learns the new skills associated with the leap.

When Hazel was 5 weeks I noticed a major fussy time. But being that she was 5 weeks, I didn't think much of it... Y'all know that lovely fog of the first 2 months. But then at 8 weeks she had another fussy time... And it was more than the usual growth spurt. I started some looking around and discovered the Wonder Weeks. I had also noticed that Hazel was really into patterns after this fussy time and couldn't tear her eyes away from my plaid shirt, when she wouldn't have noticed it before.

I decided to test it for the next leap, at 12 weeks. The leap arrived right on time and after the leap she had developed many of the things the handy little app told me she would. I especially noticed that she liked when my voice went from low to high, just as the app told me she would....

Literally every time Hazel has had a fussy time {I'm talking more than just the odd off day} it has been linked to a Wonder Week. The bummer is that they are often longer than a week long...

"It’s not your imagination– all babies go through a difficult period around the same age. Research has shown that babies make 10 major, predictable, age-linked changes – or leaps – during their first 20 months of their lives. During this time, they will learn more than in any other time. With each leap comes a drastic change in your baby’s mental development, which affects not only his mood, but also his health, intelligence, sleeping patterns and the “three C’s” (crying, clinging and crankiness).

Babies cry during a leap because they’ve reached a radical new step in their mental development. That is good: it gives them the opportunity to learn new things. The “difficult” behavior is actually a signal that great progress is underway.

Like the physical growth spurts that a child makes, the mental development of children is also made with leaps. Neurological research has shown that such leaps are accompanied by changes in the brain. The Wonder Weeks, by Dutch authors Hetty van de Rijt and Frans X. Plooij, describes in easy to understand terms the incredible developmental changes that all babies go through during their first 20 months of life."

Awesome right? I absolutely loved finding out this info because it helped me to not get frustrated when I felt I didn't know what was wrong with Hazel. It also helped me to put a positive spin on the fussy time, knowing it would soon be over and Hazel will have learned something new! I can do anything if I know it's for a reason!

Hazel is currently going through Wonder Week 37 and it has definitely interrupted her sleep at night as well as naps. She is loving clinging to me and has been just plain irritable. I think we are nearing the end of it now! Which is awesome cause this mama is tired of having baby girl on my hip 24/7. Not to mention 2-3 night wakings! But it's for a purpose right?

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What about you? Have you heard of the Wonder Weeks? Have you followed it with your children? I would love to hear your experience! Leave a comment below!